61% of jeepneys, 72% of vans now consolidated — LTFRB 

THE LAND Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Thursday said 61% of jeepneys and 72% of passenger vans are already consolidated, which will allow them, regardless if modernized or traditional, to ply roads until end-December. 

“For PUJs (public utility jeepneys) based on our data, out of the 158,000 target nationwide units, 61% are already consolidated,” LTFRB Technical Division Head Joel de Jesus Bolano said in a press briefing. 

“For UVEs (utility van express units), out of 19,000 units nationwide, 72% of the units were already consolidated,” he added.  

Earlier this week, LTFRB issued Memorandum Circular 2023-013 which allowed the provisional authority of public utility vehicles to be extended until Dec. 31, as long as the individual operators are able to join an existing consolidated entity on or before June 30. 

The consolidation, a part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization program, aims to bring together single operators and drivers as one legal entity to help facilitate the transition to modern transport units.  

Public transport drivers and operators have been resisting the shift, citing the cost of new vehicles. 

Operators who fail to consolidate by June 30 will lose their provisional authority. 

Mr. Bolano also assured the public that contingency measures are being planned to avoid a potential “transportation crisis” after June 30. 

“The board will have another board meeting next week to discuss the details on the contingency measures,” he said.  

Mr. Bolano also stressed that the industry consolidation does not automatically mean an immediate phase out of old vehicles.   

“The consolidation is the first step. Once they are consolidated, they will operate their unit whether modernized or traditional until December and then another policy guideline will be issued on the next component of the PUV modernization,” he added.  

To date, Mr. Bolano said the LTFRB has recorded over 5,300 modernized jeepneys across the country. — Justine Irish D. Tabile